Ziran

Our favorite January 2016 dineLA meal! It was a nice surprise to be able to get a really complete, elegant dinner at the $ 39 price point. The chef first brought out a spicy tuna and salmon tartar. It was a nice and well received surprise. Then we had our soups. The tortilla chicken soup comes with all sorts of garnish, which makes it nice ad somewhat customizable. The popcorn chowder was really just a corn chowder. We both had the steak for our entrée. It was really well cooked. There was nothing to complain about. For dessert, we both had the chocolate caramel lava cake. It was a good cake, but I think I was expecting caramel to ooze out of the lava cake and it didn’t. The name was just a bit misleading but we still enjoyed it.
Definitely well worth the marketing efforts of dineLA because I have no problems coming back here!

Absolutely loved this place!!! Came on a Tuesday evening so it was quiet. Service was obviously quick and attentive. Can’t judge based on if there were more people. Stayed at the hotel so thought it was perfect for a quick dinner.
The duck confit quesadillas were absolutely amazing. Came in small bite sides as a starter and just melted in your mouth. The DTLA burger had these caramelized onions to DIEEEE for.
Environment was fabulous and the staff was AMAZINGG!

Visited with friends on the last Saturday of DineLA. We had called earlier in the day to try to make reservations but was told they were completely booked. We decided to take our chances and try to get a walk-​in reservation anyway. When we arrived, the hostess told us we were lucky and they could accommodate us because a table had just left. Great! Valet parking was also only $ 5 with restaurant validation. Even better!
As many other reviewers have stated, the restaurant is located in the LA Hotel. According to the staff members, the restaurant was recently renovated and has been open for about a year. There is a lot of open space and the restaurant has a nice ambience. It was interesting that they weren’t taking reservations though because over half the tables in the restaurant were empty when we arrived (and remained empty throughout our entire meal). My group ordered the duck confit quesadillas to start. For my meal, I ordered the Ahi Tuna, the steak with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables, and cheesecake with berries. To be honest, the entire meal was just mediocre. The basket of bread and butter was probably the most enjoyable part of the entire meal!
For a restaurant that’s been open for already a year, I think a lot of work can still be put into their food. Their presentation is fabulous but the taste was unremarkable for me.

My girlfriends and I went to Ziran with such high expectations. They not only had the most appealing menu from the other DineLA restaurants but they had really good reviews on Unilocal so we were pretty excited for the night. First, our water had a funny taste to it and when I checked the bottle it came in, I noticed it had what looked like hard water stains or dried dishwashing soap! Really?! A place like this can’t make sure to fully clean their bottles? Then I asked my waiter what he recommends as an entrée since I was torn between the steak and grilled pork chop. Without hesitation he said the pork chop… okay so that’s what my girlfriends and I ordered thinking it must be good since this fool nearly cut me off to make the suggestion. With the first slice I noticed mine was a little pink but I didn’t think much of it cuz it was near the bone so I just didn’t eat that bite. Then my girlfriend shows me hers and its practically bleeding! Yuck Yuck Yuck!!! Towards the end of our meal, our stomachs all started to hurt and we all began to not feel well. I’m heated, disappointed and ready to flip tables. I complained to the manager and made sure he knew how displeased we all were with the situation. Then comes the bill, they comped our drinks and one plate and took %15 off the whole bill which to me wasn’t enough to compensate for what a nightmare our experience has been. What if we didn’t notice how red the meat was and ate the whole thing? If we were already feeling sick, how much more if we all finished our plates? On our way out we see the chef who asked us how dinner was. I told him exactly how it went and with such arrogance gave us an insincere «Sorry about that.» What a jerk! For a hotel made to look elegant and classy, their restaurant couldn’t be more the opposite. This whole place seemed pretentious and fake. Not to mention their one stall bathroom that we all had to go in and out of from our dinner! They merely gave this old hotel a face lift but you can tell its nothing like what it’s trying so hard to be.

Came here for the DineLA menu and it was amazing. The ahi tuna poke was delicious and the bass was on point. Brought my mom here to celebrate her birthday and even though our meal included dessert the kitchen brought over a nice glass of bubbles for each of us as well. The chef even came over to wish her a happy birthday. Great service, amazing food. I definitely recommend Ziran. Thanks for everything!

Stayed at the LA Hotel Downtown this weekend. Did not feel like going out as I traveled most of the day. Decided to try the restaurant there and luckily we were in town for LA’s version of restaurant week. Dine LA. We had the dinner deal of 3 courses for 39 bucks. It was very good. the tuna poke was very good, popcorn chowder was different as they put actual popcorn in the soup. The sea bass was nice, steak was ok. Loved the lava cake, and the crème brulee was interesting, could probably do without the cookie. Next time we are in LA we will for sure stay at this hotel and use this restaurant. Our server told us to try the breakfast buffet as well. That is if we get up in time…

I’m giving Ziran a 5 star rating because staff were so nice and friendly. I went during Dine L. A. Week and I didn’t know what to expect. The popcorn chowder was good. It sounded interesting so I tried it. It was creamy but not too thick. The popcorn definitely gave the chowder an extra taste.
The steak, potatoes and vegetables were delectable. I couldn’t finish the steak but it melted in my mouth. The Pinot Noir was ok. It had too many tanins but it tasted better after I let it breathe.
As for dessert, the Dulce de leche crème brûlée was light and sugar cookie went well. A snicker doodle would’ve been better.
Overall, my experience was great. I’ll definitely return with my friend who missed out on a great dinner.

I can’t say enough about this restaurant/​bar, what an amazing place to have a night out on the town i had the great pleasure to meet kevin harry (director or food and drinks) last sat night he was so great and attentive to all our needs and made you feel very special, this will most definitly become the spot for our ladies night out once a week. This place had a great vide with beautiful young people and i cant wait till tonight as we head back for bday drinks.
I will make sure to ask for Kevin to ensure my night goes flawless, and i would strongly sugguest the same.

$ 40 Dine LA. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the LA Hotel was. I didn’t even know this building existed prior to this. The lobby area is sexy and chic with giant marble pillars. The elegance extended to the bar area, and then eventually to Ziran, which is located towards the back left. Both the hotel and restaurant were pretty empty on a Monday night. We made reservations, but it wasn’t needed.
Bread & Butter: The bread was dry and tough, and it was wheat — not my favorite. The trio of butter though, is worth noting. They were cilantro, citrus, and chive infused. Very interesting and the flavors come though nicely. I would eat this on its own, but that might be slightly frowned upon at a fancy restaurant.
Popcorn Chowder: Big portion. 3x bigger than my friend’s Ahi Tuna appetizer. I love corn and corn soup in general, but this dish is very elevated. Creamy but not overly thick. Hint of spice in each spoonful. Unfortunately the popcorn element didn’t work for me. It got soggy and chewy in the soup.
Black Bass: When I got this, I sliced into the fish with my fork, and it was very rubbery. It tasted okay, just the texture was off. It wasn’t until I got to the middle of the fish did I see blood lines. Yup, it was under-​cooked. I notified the waiter and he quickly apologized and took my plate away. He said another one is being made for me now, and while I waited, he offered me a complimentary glass of Pinot Grigio. I really appreciate this kind of service. We all make mistakes, but he handled it with professionalism and care. A completely new dish came out and this time the fish was cooked perfectly — flakey and buttery. I ended up eating the whole thing even though I already had half of the first fish.
Chocolate Lava Cake: This was a bit too heavy. Not a huge fan of the sticky caramel on top. Wish it came with ice cream instead! A few bites of just the cake was a good way to end the meal though.
My friend ordered the Ahi Tuna (only comes with 3 cubes), Pork Chop (huge portion, but a bit dry), and Cheesecake (tastes homemade, which is a good thing!).

My friend and I went for DineLA lunch. I liked the ambience and the décor. But that was about it.
I had the cream tomato soup, pear salad and the steak sandwich. The cream tomato soup was just waaay too salty and I didn’t even want try finishing it. The salad was pretty good. The steak sandwich was just okay. It tasted just okay than what it looked like.
My friend got the chicken tortilla soup, romaine hearts salad and the salmon sandwich. Her soup was rather really tasteless, of anything at all. I didn’t try her salad but she said that it was good. Now the salmon sandwich! The server told us that it was his favorite sandwich from the menu so we were looking forward to it. And behold, it was the worst of them all. The salmon sandwich just smelled reeeaaally fishy. And I mean FISHY, it was like the fishy smell you smell on uncooked fish. I could even smell when it wasn’t even in my mouth. It’s not like I’ve never had fish before. I love seafood and eat cooked fish occasionally, but this, I just couldn’t handle the smell. My friend felt the same way with the salmon sandwich too.
Both of our conclusion was that the salad was the best out of what we ate. Plus the server took forver to get our check closed. he saw us and said that he’ll be back. Which took him like 20 mins. and there weren’t that much tables either. Won’t be going back again.

3 stars but +1 for the great customer service. Came for DineLA with a friend on a Monday night. The restaurant itself is located in the LA Hotel. You will need to valet your car (luckily only $ 5, for up to 3 hrs of parking). The parking structures around there charge around $ 7 – 12 for the night, so unless you are planning on walking around afterwards, take the easy route and just valet.
There’s no signs in the hotel or even a sign with the restaurant name, but when you enter from the lobby, it’ll be on the far left corner. Ambiance is really nice, super classy restaurant but the place was pretty empty considering DineLA was going on.
We went with the DineLA menu, so I got the Ahi Tuna Poke, Grilled Pork Chop and Creamy Cheesecake, while my friend got the Popcorn Chowder, Honey Miso Brushed Black Bass and the Chocolate Carmel Lava Cake.
Ahi Tuna Poke: Comes in 3 pretty big pieces, the tuna was pretty fresh, I really enjoyed the avocado sauce on the side. But I wish they could cut it into smaller pieces. Not used to eating poke with a knife, but I guess I might just not be fancy enough.
Popcorn Chowder: Tried some of my friend’s, probably my favorite dish of the night. Creamy corn chowder with bits of popcorn to give it a crunchy texture. Flavoring is great, and the portion is pretty big.
Grilled Pork Chop: Meh, not much flavoring, my piece was overcooked but the bread pudding was definitely unique and made up for the rest of the dish.
Honey Miso Brushed Black Bass: My friend thought this would be sea bass but she was sadly disappointed when she found out it wasn’t. On top of that, the first one they served was still raw in the middle, however, they were really nice about it and quickly got another one. The second one was cooked perfectly, kind of too salty for my palette but I enjoyed the dish.
Both desserts were pretty normal. The presentation was very nice but taste was like every day lava cake and cheesecake.
Service was on point, although a bit on the slower end. I hate to assume, but if they had a full house, it might have taken almost 20 – 30 mins to serve each of the dishes. Back to service though, my friend got a comp’d glass of white wine for her raw fish which was really nice of them. Not sure if I’d come back but this place is definitely really nice for dates or client meet ups for sure.

Food ambience and service it’s really hard to find a place that has it all, the food here is all about presentation and taste I never associate great restaurants and hotels together but ziran inside the new la hotel is a cut above we had a wonderful evening chef Kevin came to our table twice to make sure we were enjoying the fantastic meal that was served
I will defiantly be back

I thoroughly enjoyed the dineLA special offered here at Ziran. The deal was amazing and completely worth it. The LA Hotel is fabulous. Very modern with amazing style bonus points. The space is very open, the bar is welcoming and the various seating areas make it feel very relaxed but sexy.
Ziran itself is big and these huge marble pillars in the center give it this elegant bourgeois decadence. The butter and bread is spectacular. Warm rolls with a triple butter plate. The lemon butter was the best. That was followed by a free chef offering of Seafood Pot Pie. Unexpected and extremely delicious. My party and I tried various teasers. Popcorn chowder and pear salad were the best. The blue cheese paired with the salad was the best I’ve ever had. Ahi Tuna Poké came next followed by the Cheese and Tomato.
I ordered the Pork Chop which smelled so smoky good. Great char on the meat and the bacon-​blue cheese-​bread pudding was sheer genius. The Miso Glazed Black Bass was outstanding along with the Herb Chicken Breast with purple Peruvian Mash.
Everything was plated so delicately that it really showcased the skill of the cooking staff. That includes the desserts. My cheesecake was shaped like a macaroon and sweetly dense and topped with fresh fruit. The Seasonal Fruit in a mason jar was my favorite with vanilla ice cream on the side. The Lava Cake was insanely moist yet not too sweet. I’m not a chocolate lover but my girl who is, thought it was spectacular.
All in all, great value worth the full price.

Just stepped into the restaurant and the food was great. Nice service. Loved the three little butters. Try the bass, totally worth it just for the fish. When downtown I will hit ziran up again for sure.

I wanted to leave one star however, Unilocal wont let me. First, food is horrible blahhhh. I had their lobster and shrimp pot pie, had two pieces of shrimp and no lobster, kfc pot pie 4.99 with a drink wouldve been well worth it. Angus steak? Lol more like scrapped meat and cooked up for $ 32, mcd angus burger 2.99 well worth it. Pork chop? More like chopped wood, please note how to cook pork. Almost broke my teeth eating the wooded pork. Popcorn soup was the only decent starter, dessert? Too sugared and stale short bread. Waste of money and time waiting for the food. Second, our waiter was great he even hooked up free drinks to compensate for the poor food and hrs to get your dishes. Either way if you care for ambience please try but for food please dont! Imagine frozen proteins in your fridge then hmmm i should serve it to people i hate because i wouldnt want to waste food. Sorry ziran i give you 6months till you will have trouble paying rent. Praises to the waiter for making up for the terrible food. You know what i take it back dont waste money and time here, your significant other will appreciate a fast food meal.
Ps save yourself from wasting money and time and get a in and out double double combo.

Went here for dinner when my cousin was staying here for a conference and it was just ok. I liked the warm bread and flavored butter to start (have to add a sprinkle of salt). The amuse Bouche, which was fried lobster, was a nice touch. Tasted just ok, but nice gesture.
I ordered the romain salad and tortilla soup. The salad was $ 11 and was so small and drenched in dressing — they give you a huge plate that is all edge and no room for the food. The salad just really wasn’t very good and it was described as having Roma tomatoes, but they seemed either soggy or sundried.
The soup was pretty good — the broth didn’t have much flavor, but the crunchy chips, guacamole, flavored sour cream and cilantro toppings gave it flavor.
The service was SO slow. There were like 5 other tables there and it took forever for someone to come to our table.

My company held an event in the LA Downtown Hotel, which involved 4 catered meals for 300 people, and two private dinners for 50 – 70 people. I also had the pleasure of getting to know the Food and Bev director, Kevin Harry, during this time.
First off, the food was excellent all around. Our event attendees consistently told us this was the best food we’ve had at an event yet. And the staff were impeccable. Drinks were never empty (at the dinners), and our guests always felt attended to.
The breakfasts and lunches served at the conference were not typical conference fair. The meals were hot, fresh, and cooked perfectly. And at the dinners, the 3 course meals Kevin designed for our group were excellent, filling, and unique.
I’d recommend Ziran if you’re ever in the area, and to consider the LA Hotel for an event based purely on the quality of food and service from Ziran (the hotel’s event spaces are nice too, but that’s for another review).

Great food! Ordered the ahi tuna poke appetizer to start. It was great and reminded me of being in Hawaii again. Ordered the miso glazed sea bass for entrée. It was good not great. Finished with the Verne brûlée, which is always delightful.

We were staying at the LA Hotel Downtown for a convention. We were excited to see a bar and restaurant in our hotel: D
So of course after checking in and going up to our room, we decided to call downstairs to make a dinner reservation.
The restaurant is very nice! I love the big window, made great lighting during out dinner. I was surprised this restaurant wasn’t more busy. I thought the prices were great and so was the service.
The Grub. [[ PRIX FIXE $ 38 ]] What a deal!!! With this you get to choose an appetizer, main dish and dessert! For only $ 38! And since there was two of us, we basically got to try a good amount of the menu.
[[ AHI POKE ]]
this dish comes with 4 large cubes of ahi, with avocado whip and sesame dressing. I personally would have preferred if the cubes of ahi were smaller. Those cubes were pretty huge.
[[ PEAR SALAD ]]
the pear salad was the perfect starter dish, light and refreshing!
[[ ANGUS STEAK ]]
this steak also comes with cauliflower and yukon potato silk asparagus and carrots! Noms!
[[ HONEY MISO BLACK BASS ]]
this dish also comes with roasted fingerling potatoes, watercress and tomato salad, and decorated with some vanilla saffron cream.
[[ CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKE ]]
The chocolate lava cake was super good!
[[ CREME BRULEE ]]
Okay this dish. has got to go. The crème brûlée wasnt that great AND those two shortbread cookies were horrible!

We went to this place right before seeing a play at the Ahmanson. The food and the service were absolutely perfect. I especially enjoyed the desert. they were very accommodating to vegetarian needs.